Radioactive material stolen in Iraq raises security fears. © Lucy Nicholson/Reuters South Coast Air Quality Management District's Radnet sampler, which is monitoring the level of radioactive particles, is shown in Anaheim, California March 17, 2011.
Small amounts of radioactive isotope from Japanese nuclear power stations are expected to hit Southern California late Friday. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson (UNITED STATES - Tags: ENVIRONMENT DISASTER) - RTR2K14Y BAGHDAD, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Iraq is searching for "highly dangerous" radioactive material stolen last year, according to an environment ministry document and seven security, environmental and provincial officials who fear it could be used as a weapon if acquired by Islamic State.
The material, stored in a protective case the size of a laptop computer, went missing in November from a storage facility near the southern city of Basra belonging to U.S. oilfield services company Weatherford, the document seen by Reuters showed and officials confirmed. The U.S. "They've been looking for it ever since.
OPEC. Iran. Iraq. Timeline: The 25th anniversary of Operation Desert Storm. World powers seek unlikely alliance with Taliban as 'interests coincide' in battle against common enemy Isis. The Russians want them on their side; so do the Chinese and the Iranians.
The Taliban, whom the Americans and British have spent 15 years trying to defeat, are now increasingly in demand as valued allies by international powers. The reason Moscow wants to work with the Taliban – many of them sons of the Mujaheddin, against whom Russian forces had fought a bloody, decade-long war – is that the Afghan militants are engaged in a bitter struggle against Isis for jihadist supremacy in Afghanistan. Vladimir Putin had stated that one of the reasons for starting air strikes against Isis in Syria was the threat Russia faces from fighters returning from former Soviet central Asia and carrying out terrorist attacks. China is alarmed by what it claims are links between Isis and the East Turkestan independence movement, popular among China’s Uighur Muslims.
Iran, battling Isis in Syria and Iraq, sees a serious threat in the group’s growing presence across its eastern border. 10 great resources for teaching about the Middle East. It’s okay.
Go ahead. Really . . . it’s okay to take some time out of your current curriculum to spend a couple of days talking about the ongoing protests in Egypt, parts of Africa and the Middle East. These events provide a great chance for social studies teachers to discuss a wide variety of topics including: geography – oilhistory – colonialism and imperialismeconomics – supply and demandgovernment – democracy and autocrats I posted some handy resources earlier that specifically targeted Egypt but I keep running into folks who are looking for a broader view. 1. The one you’re interested in is called Global Conflicts: Palestine. 2. ISIS, Syria and War. The Islamic State is making these Afghans long for the Taliban. SAR SHAHI, AFGHANISTAN – When the Islamic State fighters seized the Mahmand Valley, they poured pepper into the wounds of their enemies, said villagers.
Then, they seared their hands in vats of boiling oil. A group of villagers was blindfolded, tortured and blown apart with explosives buried underneath them. “They pulled out my brother’s teeth before they forced him to sit on the bombs,” recalled Malik Namos, a tribal elder who escaped the valley along with thousands of other villagers. “They are more vicious than the Taliban, than any group we have seen.” At war for more than three decades, Afghans are familiar with violence perpetrated by a raft of armies and militias.
The radical group adds a fresh dimension to the contest for Afghanistan’s future, a key reason why President Obama is considering a plan to keep as many as 5,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan past next year. [Taliban in Afghanistan tells Islamic State to stay out of country] Pakistani Taliban given sanctuary in Afghanistan.